Path traversal in Apache Camel Docling lets attackers write files
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Apache Camel from 4.15.0 before 4.18.5 and from 4.19.0 before 4.22.2 has a path traversal flaw (CWE-22) in the Docling component. The CamelDoclingOutputFilePath header reaches the docling --output flag without normalization, so absolute paths and .. segments are accepted. A party able to set this header can have conversion output written to any directory the Camel process can write to.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel Docling component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.15.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.2. DoclingProducer runs the external docling tool in CLI mode, the default, and tells it where to write the converted document through the --output flag. When the CamelDoclingOutputFilePath header was set, addOutputDirectoryArguments handed its value to that flag verbatim: the value was not normalized, an absolute path or a path containing .. segments was accepted as given, and no endpoint option could confine it to a directory. The custom-argument validation added by the fix for CVE-2026-40047 refuses the --output and -o flags in the CamelDoclingCustomArguments header and tells callers to choose the output directory with this header instead, so the one value that decides where docling writes reached the command line without any of the checks applied to custom arguments. Docling writes the conversion result, as Markdown, HTML, JSON or text, into that directory, naming the file after the input file, and the producer afterwards removes only its own temporary directory, so the file is left in place. A party able to set the header could therefore have conversion output created in any directory the Camel process can write to. The content of such a file is the conversion of the document carried by the message, so it is shaped by whoever supplies that document without being written byte for byte, and when the document content arrives in the message body the producer stores it under a random temporary name, which the output file then carries. The header belongs to the Camel header namespace, which consumers applying Camel's default header filtering, such as the JMS and Kafka consumers, remove from incoming messages, so the issue is reached where a route forwards externally influenced values into the header or where a consumer maps incoming headers without that filtering. The docling-serve mode does not use the header. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.23.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.22.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.22.2. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.5. The fix adds an outputBaseDirectory endpoint option that is unset by default, so after upgrading, set it on every docling endpoint whose CamelDoclingOutputFilePath header can carry a value influenced from outside the deployment; without it the header is normalized but can still name any directory. The 4.15.x to 4.17.x and 4.19.x to 4.21.x release lines reached end of life before this issue was resolved and will not receive a fix, so deployments on them must move to a supported release. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, do not build the CamelDoclingOutputFilePath header from values that originate outside the deployment, remove that header from messages that arrive from outside before they reach a docling endpoint, and make sure that consumers which map incoming message headers drop the Camel header namespace, so that only the route itself chooses the output directory.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, 4.22.2 on the 4.22.x stream, or 4.18.5 on the 4.18.x stream. Set the outputBaseDirectory endpoint option on every docling endpoint whose header can carry externally influenced values. Red Hat lists no available fix for Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 or Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Apache Camel (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 4.18.5, 4.22.2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Apache Camel 4.18.5, 4.22.2
6 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 5 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-80421 XML external entity resolution in Apache Camel XQuery evaluationPriority MEDIUM 40
- TI-2026-80294 Apache Camel CoAP consumer leaks internal details in error responsesPriority LOW 31
- TI-2026-80292 Apache Camel Keycloak policy accepts expired tokens from cachePriority LOW 30
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-26 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-95629
- 2026-10-26 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-27 Alias added: GHSA-9mgq-6r88-pghr
- 2026-11-02 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-07 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
References
Patch 3
More Apache Camel vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-76322 Unsafe deserialization in Apache Camel camel-hazelcast CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2026-18973 Apache Camel: Camel-Keycloak: Cross-Realm Token Acceptance Bypass in KeycloakSecurityPolicy CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-76339 Path traversal in Apache Camel azure-files component CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-76330 Path traversal in Apache Camel FTP consumer escapes polled directory CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2025-20435 Apache Camel: Camel Message Header Injection via Improper Filtering CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.6
- TI-2026-34899 Apache Camel: Camel-CXF Message Header Injection via Missing Inbound Filtering CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-95629 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-95629 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9mgq-6r88-pghr · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-95629 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences